McDonald’s has long served as a de facto leader of the limited-service restaurant space. Far and away the largest quick-service company in the U.S. by system-wide sales, the Golden Arches has for generations been the model for fast-food stability and achievement, the benchmark against which all...

1. 8 Fast Food Trends for ’14
There is always excitement at the beginning of a new year, with renewed hopes of health, wealth, and happiness. It’s no different in the limited-service industry, where a year ago, brands were studying up on potential trends to ensure a prosperous 2014. These eight...

Images of the late Col. Harlan Sanders are everywhere as you walk through the Louisville, Kentucky, headquarters of KFC and its parent, Yum! Brands. Not only are there plenty of photos and videos of the company founder and creator of the world’s most popular fried chicken recipe, but there are also...

It’s mid-September and Thom Crosby is on the road again. Every six months, Crosby, the CEO of Pal’s Sudden Service, a 26-unit chain with stores across Tennessee and Virginia, joins Pal’s founder Fred Barger for a road trip. The pair visit all 26 stores, leading quality and system audits at each...

When news that more quick-serve and fast-casual restaurants were experimenting with alcohol beverage service emerged in the last decade, many operators and experts followed it with a skepticism chaser. Analysts warned that costly liquor licensing, regulatory details, and staffing issues were just a...

Come next month, the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) health-care reporting provision for businesses with 50 or more full-time employees kicks in.
Experts say operators must be certain if they fit into the category of Applicable Large Employer (ALE) or Small Business.
“The law combines companies with a...

I never thought I would be an owner of a quick-service restaurant brand; I actually received my economics degree at Stanford. Being in the San Francisco area, however, I happened to wander onto a movie set that was shooting in the Bay Area. After witnessing the movie-catering business, I ended up...

When fast-casual chain Zoës Kitchen Inc. debuted on the New York Stock Exchange last April, the Plano, Texas–based Mediterranean-style eatery recorded its initial public offering at $87.5 million. Satisfying an investor appetite for investments within the trendy fast-casual space, Zoës’ strong...

The Howard Company Inc. celebrates their 65th anniversary in the display and menu board industry starting this month. From its humble beginnings, The Howard Company Inc. has grown to become an international supplier of menu boards and marketing materials. Today, the 100 percent...

PAR Technology Corporation announced today that Tom + Chee, a grilled cheese and tomato soup shop for the kid at heart, has selected PAR Brink POS and PAR EverServ hardware. PAR Brink POS solutions are currently deployed in 9 Tom + Chee locations, with a full roll-out of all 19 stores was...

El Pollo Loco announced the addition of Baja Shrimp as a seasonal menu option available through spring. In addition, they will also feature four LTO Baja Shrimp items to highlight the new menu. These new Baja Shrimp menu items include Shrimp Mango Tacos, Shrimp Verde Enchiladas, Shrimp &...

Taco Time Northwest, a family-owned Mexican quick service restaurant, hosted its first ever open casting call to film customer reactions to their new, limited time menu item, the Habanero Chicken Burrito. Guests were sought out via Taco Time NW’s Facebook page. Footage from the casting call...

Green Leaf’s restaurants added Sesame Asian Quinoa to the menu. Over the past decade, the Andean super food has become very popular. Though it is often called a whole grain, quinoa is actually a seed. Cousin to a beet, quinoa, (pronounced keen-wah), is a complete protein rich in...

Juice It Up!, a leading raw juice bar and hand-crafted smoothie franchise, has officially opened its newest Irvine, California, location. This is the third location in Irvine, and the first operating under the ownership of Shobha Trading, LLC, co-founded by sisters Faurum and Megha Doshi. The...

While the fast-casual category continues to be the fastest-growing industry sector, the road in 2015 will be bumpy. We will see constant change and challenges around every corner. For industry leaders, there are issues that will keep even the most seasoned executive awake at night.
Here is my top...

Kevin Kester’s family has been farming in the U.S. for generations. And it’s not just a couple of generations they’ve been farming; more like generations upon generations, way back to the 1600s, specifically in California since the 1860s. Today, Kester owns a 22,000-acre beef cattle ranch in...

Though U.S. consumption is well below other proteins today, seafood will likely be an increasingly important part of the American diet in the years to come. The country’s population is predicted to grow by 89 million between 2010 and 2050 to 401 million people. More people require more food—and...

When fast-casual chain Zoës Kitchen Inc. debuted on the New York Stock Exchange last April, the Plano, Texas–based Mediterranean-style eatery recorded its initial public offering at $87.5 million. Satisfying an investor appetite for investments within the trendy fast-casual space, Zoës’ strong...

Convenience stores are increasingly taking a larger slice out of the quick-serve pie with fresh food offerings. It’s become such a lucrative business for C-stores that Sheetz, the Pennsylvania-based C-store chain that this week opened its 500th location, is planning stores designed more as fast...

When Lori Newcomb found out she had stage III ovarian cancer last year, she made it her mission to learn more about the disease and help other women fighting the same battle. She sat down with her husband, Chris Newcomb, cofounder and CEO of Southern quick-service chain Newk’s Eatery, and together...